D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Has $446,000 Stake in OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC - Free Report) by 78.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,636 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 87,709 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.'s holdings in OceanFirst Financial were worth $446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 807.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,640 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in OceanFirst Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 1,009.6% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 5,548 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 5,048 shares during the period. Finally, EMC Capital Management grew its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 6,001.3% during the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 9,152 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $166,000 after buying an additional 9,002 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

OceanFirst Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OCFC traded up $0.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $16.94. The company had a trading volume of 310,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 298,156. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a 52 week low of $14.03 and a 52 week high of $21.87. The stock has a market cap of $989.02 million, a PE ratio of 10.27 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.01. The business's 50 day moving average price is $16.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.78.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35. The business had revenue of $97.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $95.66 million. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 5.75%. Analysts expect that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. OceanFirst Financial's dividend payout ratio is 52.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $20.67.

OceanFirst Financial Profile

OceanFirst Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for OceanFirst Bank N.A. that provides community banking services to retail and commercial customers. It accepts money market accounts, savings accounts, interest-bearing checking accounts, non-interest-bearing accounts, and time deposits, that includes brokered deposits to retail, government, and business customers.